{late savings}

I was going through some receipts and realized I didn't post about my last grocery shopping (I know you were all sitting around waiting for this!)...

Last week I went to Food Lion and Bi-Lo. Here's a quick recap:

Food Lion:
Spent = $28.44
Saved = $29.41 (MVP + Coupons)
Savings of 51%

Bi-Lo:
Spent = $35.65
Saved = $33.22 (Bonuscard + Coupons)
Savings of 48%

I was a little disappointed in my Bi-Lo experience for two reasons.

(1) They had a great deal going with Gerber baby food. Spend $20, get $5 off instantly. That part worked fine. However, I had a bunch of catalina coupons from HT and FL for the food. The cashier wouldn't take them because they were from other stores. She called over the manager who said the same thing. I have been successful using these at other locations, so I found this to be quite annoying. I pointed out that they say "manufacturer's coupons" but they claim they wouldn't get reimbursed for them. I just need to find out if that is true or not. I'm not out to rip off the stores, but it was my understanding that they would be treated like any other manufacturer's coupon... I still got a decent deal on the baby food - 20 two-packs for $15, but it should've been an even better deal :(

(2) They were running a deal where if you bought a certain amount of Old El Paso product, you got a coupon back for a certain amount on your next visit (based on how much you bought). I qualified for this but my coupon didn't print. Then I was told the cashier's printer wasn't working. So, I had to go with the same manager (who I'm sure is loving me at this point) and get a raincheck for the $3.00. That was kind of annoying, but ultimately not a huge deal. The thing that ticked me off more is that if her printer wasn't working, they shouldn't have been using that register. I get a TON of catalina coupons every time I shop. And I missed out on those. Twice at Harris Teeter, I've gotten BOGO coupons for formula worth $13. What if I just missed out on something that valuable??? My theory is that if you are going to offer a service (such as catalina coupons), then make sure the crap works.

On a more positive note, I did get an entire free meal :) They had one of those "meal deals" where you buy something and then get 3-4 free items. I did that, but happened to have a coupon that made the item you paid for free also. Oh and the cashier tried to stop me from using that coupon but I won that argument thankfully.